Concerning 'Love'
by Anexie
Summary: Greedlerbot is confused about this dazzling, bewildering human emotion, so goes to Steam for an explanation. Unrequited Steamcest.


Love had always been a foreign aspect of human emotion to the robot, but he suspected he had a vague idea of what it was. He knew it was a strong, often overpowering feeling, one that made lots of humans do or say things they normally wouldn't. He knew that sometimes it could make humans feel sad, and sometimes make them feel happy. His research had informed him that love was usually only felt towards another human and was a _good _feeling, when it was reciprocated.

But Greedlerbot was still curious; still unsatisfied with the amount he knew about this tricky subject. So he decided to ask his creator about it.

Greedlerbot was very fond of Steamler; to point of being overprotective and aggressively caring. He'd watch out for him when he was tired or unwell, stroking gloved fingers through the beautiful, shining raven hair; and when Steam was sad, Greedlerbot would follow him and play back what he hoped was uplifting music, often to the point of becoming an annoyance to the inventor, and being asked to 'knock it off'.

But the robot was never dissuaded from doing his job. He was a 'helperbot' after all, and would continue to help whenever he could. Besides, even if it wasn't in his programming to perform this way, he had a feeling he still would want to be around Steam, attempting to make him happy – because when the human smiled, or laughed, it had recently become one of the most appealing and attractive things that robot had ever come across. Sometimes Greedlerbot would spend whole minutes formulating new ways for himself to bring humour or joy into the inventor's life.

A few weeks ago, Steam had come up with a new upgrade for him that would enable him to communicate better. It had worked perfectly, of course; not only making Greedlerbot able to speak, but filling him with a great_ urge_ to do so. The entire workshop had soon become filled with his chatter, because if Steam wasn't around Greedlerbot would simply talk to himself, revelling in his low toned, slightly crackly voice. Steamler had also apparently taken pleasure from the robot's new found lust for vocalising, and chatted back to him, listening fondly and only telling him to shut up a couple of times when the deep, static-y tones had been sounding for far too long.

* * *

'Steam?'

Greedlerbot was perched in his usual place on the bench of the workshop, drumming his fingertips on the wood as was his habit when he was being attended to. His shirt lay beside him; his chest panel was open and Steam was slightly crouched in front of him, frowning intensely at his inner machinery and tapping his chin thoughtfully. The robot could see a smudge of oil contrasting with his pale skin where the finger kept touching it.

'Oui?' said Steamler, recovering from his concentrated trance and grabbing a wrench from the mess of tools littering the table beside him. He smiled to himself; the foreign affirmation was highly appropriate as this new upgrade would make the robot finally able to understand and speak a number of new languages. Glancing upwards at the other's displeased expression, he chuckled again, this time the grin directed solely at Greedlerbot. 'That means 'yes'.'

'What is 'love'?'

Steamler paused for only a second before continuing to tinker with the whirling cogs and springs inside the robot's chest. 'Read about it, have you?' he asked rhetorically, before whirling onwards without waiting for an answer. "Love' is…. well, it's hard to explain, really.'

The man got to his feet, closing Greedlerbot's front panel and starting on the first of the screws that held it shut. His brow was furrowed. 'It's a good feeling. It's when you care about someone very much, and you don't want them to ever get hurt or be sad. You just want them to be happy all the time-'

He was cut off and the screwdriver nearly knocked out of his hand by the robot's sudden straightening up. Steam looked up in surprise at the expression of total joy that was commandeering Greedlerbot's mechanical features. The robot's voice was higher pitched than normal as he cried gleefully, 'Then I love_ you_, Steamler!'

The human smiled, his eyes lowering and a hint of colour flushing his cheeks. Greedlerbot waited agitatedly for a few moments, then Steam's hands once more rose to his metal chest as the inventor looked up and said gently, 'No, you don't love me, Greedlerbot.'

The robot's face fell. His head dropped and he watched the delicate, nimble fingers work at the final screw, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

Steamler sensed the other's distress and cleared his throat. 'You probably love me like a _father_, Greedler. Because I made you, and I help you and look after you and stuff.' He placed the screwdriver gently on the table, and began to wipe his oily hands pointlessly on an already filthy rag. The robot was still silent, so Steamler lifted his chin with two fingers, looked into his quietly disgruntled face and gave him a wan smile. 'If it's any consolation, I love you like a son.'

Greedler's prosthetic hand suddenly flew upwards and grabbed Steamler's wrist, but not hard. 'No, Steam! The _other _type of love-'

And now it was the inventor's turn to interrupt. 'The _other_ type of love, Greedler, is impossible for you to feel. I never made you in that way.' He wriggled his wrist from the other's grasp, and patted the robot on the shoulder. Greedlerbot couldn't have felt the comforting touch, but it was the thought that counted. And Steamler really _did_feel sorry that what he was saying was, unfortunately, true.  
'I didn't want you having little crushes on any humans, did I? Because not all people take very well to human/robot relationships, Greedler, as I've told you before.'

He paused to bite his lip, taking in the robot's desperate, unbelieving stare. 'I'm sorry, but it was for the best.' Then his eyes flashed and he grinned lightly. 'I mean, I could always build you a lady friend, huh Greed?'

Greedlerbot watched silently as Steam turned away from him, tidying the scrap bits of metal and and debris on the workbench. He opened his mouth to speak again, but once again the human got there before him, Steam's guilt obviously troubling him. 'Y'see, love is finding someone… attractive, too. When you find appealing what they look - _and_ act like.'

Greedlerbot observed fondly as his friend caught his fingertip on a rough edge of a sharp piece of metal, and the human then proceeded to glare immaturely at the offending sheet of alloy whilst sucking his finger.

The robot nodded in agreement, but Steamler's back was still facing him.

'-it's not just about caring for them and liking them a lot – you'd want to spend the rest of your life with that person, and be with them whenever you could-'

Greedlerbot was only half-listening to the other's babble as he shrugged back on his shirt. His eyes, hidden beneath goggles, didn't move from the ground as he tried to ignore the disappointment he felt. Why couldn't Steam have not installed these _negative_ feelings in him instead?

The robot quickly realised that, in all the rising stress, he'd forgotten to test out his latest development. An idea forming, he didn't know whether to hope that Steam wasn't entirely fluent in the language he was about to speak, or to wish that the inventor could understand it like a second tongue.

'Du bist ein sehr attraktiver Mann und ich will dich für den Rest meines Lebens lieben.'

Steamler wheeled round to face him, beaming brightly, his blue eyes sparkling. 'Wow, Greedlerbot, that was great! What did you say?'

But the robot simply stared back at him quietly, thankful for not being human as it meant he could hide such emotions as disappointment and nostalgia fairly easily, even from the man that knew him better than anyone else ever could.

Steam shrugged, accustomed to the other's expressionless manner that appeared whenever Greedlerbot felt out of his depth. 'Well, suit yourself. Now, I need your help with some paperwork – you write a lot faster than I do.' The inventor cast one last glance around the room, before settling his gaze on Greedlerbot and gesturing with one hand. 'Come on.'

The robot followed the human out of the room and up a flight of stairs, thinking deeply about Steam's explanation of 'love' and wondering how he could be feeling so _exactly_ everything that had just been described to him. And then Greedlerbot realised that if he couldn't explain the ferocity of his allegedly 'impossible' emotions, then there was no way that his creator would ever understand them.

Unblinking green eyes stared longingly at the raven tufts at the back of Steam's head, and the robot felt a deep ache settle within his gears that had nothing to do with needing to be oiled.


End file.
